How to Fix a Ball Point Pen With Dried Ink
A ballpoint pen uses oil-based ink. When the ink flows across the small ball on the tip of the pen, the ink appears on the writing surface. Ballpoint pens can get air inside from the tip of the pen and through the ink reserve. When this happens, clogs and dried ink can inhibit the pen’s writing ability. Before you go out and buy a new ink reserve, there are several methods that you can use to unclog the pen. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Ballpoint pen
- Hot running water
- Rubber eraser
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cotton swab
- Paper
Instructions
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1
Run the tip of the ballpoint pen under hot water for one minute. Pull the tip of the pen out of the water and try to scribble on a piece of paper. The hot water should loosen the ink and allow the pen to clear the clog and write smoothly.
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2
Run the tip of the ballpoint pen under hot water for one minute. Pull the tip of the pen out of the water and try to scribble on a rubber eraser. If the ink has been heated properly, the clogged ink will stick to the rubber, freeing the flow of ink.
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3
Run the tip of the ballpoint pen under hot water for one minute. Pull the tip of the pen out of the water and use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to coat the tip of the pen. Try to scribble on a piece of paper to get the clog out of the pen. Apply the alcohol as needed until the clog is gone.
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4
Heat the tip of the ballpoint pen with a lighter for a couple of seconds. Try to scribble on a piece of paper to free the clog.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Pen image by Vasiliy Dmitrienko from Fotolia.com
